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| Walhello -> Knowledge Base -> CDs -> J -> Jean Michel Jarre Rendezvous |
| Jean Michel Jarre - Rendezvous Band: Jean Michel Jarre Tracks: - First Rendez-vous - Second Rendez-vous - Third Rendez-vous - Fourth Rendez-vous - Fifth Rendez-vous - Last Rendez-vous A superb album I'm certainly surprised by the some of the negative remarks I've read on here regarding Rendezvouz. Commerically speaking, it is one of Jarre's most commercially successful albums ever, spending more time in the album charts than either Oxygene or Equinoxe. Rendezvous is Jean-Michel Jarre at his best with the Fairlight synths. Tracks 1, 2 and 3 are just heavenly, light synths over a melodramatic and orchestral booming background which reaches a crashing crescendo. It really is heady stuff. And then just when you think you can't take anymore, you get some light relief with the cranky part 3 'Laser Harp' followed up by the very popular part 4 (commonly known as Rendezvous Houston). Part 5 is a break from the mould of the album as is part 6, a moving tribute to Astronaut Ron McNair who lost his life aboard Challenger. To me, Rendezvous is well up there as being one of Jarre's best ever albums as it seemed to fit in so well with the mid 80's. My personal favorite JMJ album. Rendez-vous has it all: Swirling instrumental backdrops like those found in the early Jarre albums, a few bouncy melodies like in the later ones, and most importantly COHESION between the two which many of his releases don't have. This is a great place to start if you don't know JMJ. I would put this CD and Oxygene 7-13 in the same camp. I loved this CD even before I found out that the final track (Last Rendez-vous: Ron's Piece) was supposed to be the first music performed in Space (by Challenger Astronaut and saxophonist Ron McNair). It's fitting that it's such a sad piece, filled with loss. Love that sax. Popular, but, unfortunately, not that good. Rendez-Vous is indeed the return of Jarre to his Traditional style, but this album is by no means nearly as good as Equinoxe or Oxygene. It starts with a moody song, First Rendez-Vous, followed by the great Second Rendez-Vous, although it'd be better if it were the Images version, without all the uneeded repetitions. Third Rendez-Vous comes next and sounds pretty much like First Rendez-Vous. The famous Fourth Rendez-Vous, a piece that apears in almost all compilation albums, follows, and, while it's not a bad song, it really feels out of place. After that, there is Fifth Rendez-Vous, in my opinion the best track in the album and, a quite good one. Rendez-Vous closes with 'Ron's Piece' a melancholic saxophone piece. In other words, Rendez-Vous is a great album, but it has a flaw: it can take some time for it to grow in you if you're not familiar with Jarre. The sound production is clean and nice, lots of digital sounds, but it still sounds great! An album for when you already have Equinoxe, Oxygene and Chronologie. An alternative to this album is Oxygene 7-13. Buy Jean Michel Jarre Rendezvous at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
